Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

Thumped Album Club Week 32: Fleetwood Mac – Rumours (1977)

Week 32 of Album Club is a little-known Fleetwood Mac LP from 1977, Rumours

Rumours is the eleventh studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. Largely recorded in California during 1976, it was produced by the band with Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut and was released on 4 February 1977 by Warner Bros. Records. The record peaked at the top of both the main United States Billboard chart and the United Kingdom Albums Chart. “Go Your Own Way”, “Don’t Stop”, “Dreams”, and “You Make Loving Fun” were released as singles. A Grammy Award winner, Rumours is Fleetwood Mac’s most successful release with sales of over 40 million copies worldwide.

The band wanted to expand on the commercial success of the 1975 record Fleetwood Mac, but struggled with relationship breakups before recording started. The Rumours studio sessions were marked by hedonistic behaviour and interpersonal strife between Fleetwood Mac members; these experiences informed the album’s lyrics. Influenced by pop music, the record’s tracks were recorded using a combination of acoustic and electric instruments. The mixing process delayed the completion of Rumours, but was finished by the end of 1976. Following the album’s release in 1977, Fleetwood Mac undertook worldwide promotional tours.

Rumours garnered widespread critical acclaim. Praise centred on its production quality and harmonies, which frequently relied on the interplay among three vocalists. The record has inspired the work of musical acts in different genres. Often considered Fleetwood Mac’s best release, it has featured in several publications’ lists of the best albums of the 1970s and the best albums of all time.

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

It may come as a challenge to some but just try it, and remember that Album Club rules say three listens are mandatory before commenting. Everything will be OK.

Let us know what you think in the comments below or over on the forums.

You can find all previous Album Club selections at https://thumped.com/tac.

  1. Oh good grief.

    Right, great album. I play it about once a year and that's enough for me though. The Corrs ruined Dreams forever.

    People are more likely to have this album than a Greatest Hits aren't they?

  2. Woah! I had this album drummed into me as a kid (older bro/sis) so this is going to bring on intense nostalgia. Have never actually decided to sit down and listen to it so should be interesting …

  3. One of the high water marks of major label rock music, says I. This was *the* cool album among the cool-kids I knew (and was very much not one of) in Wexford town in the late 80s. The very odd time I put it on I can't deny its greatness, but I'd never really be arsed listening to it – it doesn't supply what I'm looking for from music these days

  4. GARYXKNIFEDX

    A one song record,yeah,that one.

    I'd be more of the opinion that this album is really lacking in filler. theres about 7 magnificent songs on it.

  5. This was a staple of the parental record collection when I was a nipper, but I think by the time we came along they were entirely sick of it, so it never got played.

    In the mid 80s I remember they went to see Fleetwood Mac somewhere and I threw a massive strop at not being allowed to go and to prove to them they were evil bastards for denying me my right to softly rock I decided to become the bands greatest fan. I did so by somehow getting copies of Tango in the night (the sex noises on Big Love *horrified* me, still do….shudder) and the greatest hits with the green sleeve. So those two tapes, along with Invisible Touch by Genesis and Live Magic by Queen were hugely responsible for a lot of my musical moulding. Along with Live in the city of light by Simple Minds, which taught me to SING, damnit, but we'll wait til that one turns up in album club before going further.

    So, in anyways, all I knew of Rumours really were the couple of songs on the Greatest Hits, none of which were as good as Rhiannon or perturbed me as much as Big Love. Uh! Ah! Uh! Ah!

    Maybe 10 years ago I picked up a £5 copy of Rumours in Fopp in Glasgow, didn't listen to it for months. But then I did. And it was joyous.

    This is a brilliantly written, performed and recorded LP. There's very little on it that's not exceptional. It can't help but have suffered a bit from being such a massive prick in the culture all these years, but to it's credit it's not really been diminished for it. Just great.

    As an aside, there's a great Rocket From The Crypt/Fleetwood mac story. RFTC were recording Scream Dracula Scream in some LA studio, and from the live room they could see Mick Fleetwood enter the control booth and start chatting to the engineer. The band went for a take and were delighted to see Mick rocking out like fuck, air drumming and all, then absconding before the band could nab him for a chat.

    They were reliably informed that when they started playing, he turned down the faders and put on something else entirely and proceeded to rock out.

    Prick! Legend!

  6. GO

    At last one of my picks!!

    10/10 .Flawless.

    seriously? this is the first one from the list you put in? Out of 33 albums? Pete must have it in for you m8!

    thats mad. Half my list has been done already.

  7. dudley

    This was a staple of the parental record collection when I was a nipper, but I think by the time we came along they were entirely sick of it, so it never got played.

    In the mid 80s I remember they went to see Fleetwood Mac somewhere and I threw a massive strop at not being allowed to go and to prove to them they were evil bastards for denying me my right to softly rock I decided to become the bands greatest fan. I did so by somehow getting copies of Tango in the night (the sex noises on Big Love *horrified* me, still do….shudder) and the greatest hits with the green sleeve. So those two tapes, along with Invisible Touch by Genesis and Live Magic by Queen were hugely responsible for a lot of my musical moulding. Along with Live in the city of light by Simple Minds, which taught me to SING, damnit, but we'll wait til that one turns up in album club before going further.

    So, in anyways, all I knew of Rumours really were the couple of songs on the Greatest Hits, none of which were as good as Rhiannon or perturbed me as much as Big Love. Uh! Ah! Uh! Ah!

    Maybe 10 years ago I picked up a £5 copy of Rumours in Fopp in Glasgow, didn't listen to it for months. But then I did. And it was joyous.

    This is a brilliantly written, performed and recorded LP. There's very little on it that's not exceptional. It can't help but have suffered a bit from being such a massive prick in the culture all these years, but to it's credit it's not really been diminished for it. Just great.

    As an aside, there's a great Rocket From The Crypt/Fleetwood mac story. RFTC were recording Scream Dracula Scream in some LA studio, and from the live room they could see Mick Fleetwood enter the control booth and start chatting to the engineer. The band went for a take and were delighted to see Mick rocking out like fuck, air drumming and all, then absconding before the band could nab him for a chat.

    They were reliably informed that when they started playing, he turned down the faders and put on something else entirely and proceeded to rock out.

    Prick! Legend!

    I think I might have put Live In The City Of Light in my top ten. Fingers crossed.

  8. I bought this for my brother years ago and he loved it. I prefer the Peter green Fleetwood Mac but this is worth it for the chain. Formula one wouldn't be the same.

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